Chapter 8

Little Madison sat on the couch in Nathan's office, her face and hands covered in a blue sticky mess as she enjoyed her snow cone, her legs swinging back and forth.

"Nathan, we've got eight more reports of…kids," Audrey walked into the office not sure how to explain what happened or how.

Duke sat on the other end of the couch from little Madison and flipped through the yearbook, marking off the ones that had de-aged and ones that had moved away from Haven since graduation trying to narrow down who could be behind it.

Little Madison glanced over to Duke every once and while and made a face. Nathan picked up on it and it made himself smile. It was the first time in Madison's life she didn't care for Duke.

"We still have twenty-five people that either haven't been changed into a mini version of themselves or hasn't moved away from this hell hole," Duke stood up to put the list on the desk.

"Oooo," little Madison gasped. "You said a bad word!"

Duke pinched the bridge of his nose, "Little does she know she gets suspended for a week for spray painting 'bitch' on her history teacher's car."

Little Madison's eyes got wide, "You said another one!" She hopped down from the couch and stuck her tongue out at Duke. "I'm telling."

She marched herself out of the office and down the hall. Nathan moved to the window to see where she was headed and felt a pull at his heart when she went into the office his dad had before he became chief.

"Where is she going?" Duke questioned, still stunned by what had just transpired. "Do we need to go after her?"

Nathan watched her look around the office before storming her way back to him. She glared at Duke as she passed and came to stand right in front of Nathan who crouched down to be at her level. "Where is daddy?"

"He's out working right now," Nathan lied but it was as if he was a little kid again himself explaining to his sister why their dad hadn't come home for the third night in a row.

He hated to admit it but Madison being three was reminding him of how much she really had gone through over the years. He grabbed a napkin from behind him and wiped her face and then her hands. Unfortunately, she was still stained blue from the coloring but at least she wasn't sticky anymore.

She mumbled a thank you and Nathan placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from running off. "Want to tell me what's wrong?"

Little Madison thought it over and shook her head. "I want Nate."

The three adults shared a look, having a silent conversation on what they should do. There wasn't any right answer though and Nathan took a deep breath, "I am Nate, Mads."

She violently shook her head from side to side, "No, you're too big."

"Bet you never heard that before," Duke muttered, earning him a glare from the eldest Wuornos.

"I am Nate, Mads," Nathan tried again. "I just look a little different. I grew up." When she still wasn't sure he tried to think what could make her believe him. "Ollie is your cat, right? And dad always says that you'll get in less trouble if you tell the truth."

"Yeah…" Little Madison answered, still wary of the man in front of her claiming to be her brother.

Nathan thought back at what else she would remember at this age. "You have a stuffed bunny named Hopper that's missing an eye because Hunter the neighbor's dog ate it and you had me make him an eye patch until he 'healed'."

"Nate?" Little Madison questioned, staring at him and just as he thought it was going to be useless to try again she threw her arms around his neck. "I was so scared. Momma's not home and daddy isn't at work." Nathan stood with little Madison still in his arms. "I didn't mean to go with strangers. She gave me a badge like daddy has."

"It's okay," Nathan assured her as she laid her head on his shoulder, completely worn out from the day. "You did good, Mads."

X-X-X

"This is too much to ask," Duke growled under his breath, glancing around Nathan to look at little Madison who was sitting on the deck of his boat drawing a picture with a pen and notepad Audrey had given her.

Nathan didn't like the idea any more than Duke did but he had no other choice. "Audrey and I need to go find who did this so we can get her changed back. Do you really want her like this longer than she has to be?"

Duke made a face and Nathan took that as his answer as he and Audrey left the Cape Rouge to go in search of the troubled person. Little Madison looked up at him and he gave a small wave, totally out of his element.

"I don't like you," little Madison commented as she continued to scribble on the notepad.

Duke nodded, "Perfect. This should be fun."

It had been a couple hours and there was still no word from Nathan or Audrey which he assumed wasn't a good thing since Madison was still three. She had gotten bored with drawing pretty quickly and went on to pretending to play cards with her imaginary friend. That only lasted about twenty minutes when she was looking for the next thing to do and the Cape Rouge wasn't exactly kid friendly.

"Hey, half pint," Duke got little Madison's attention. "How about some food?"

Little Madison's stomach growled in response but she sat there as if she was deciding if she was hungry enough to go with Duke or not. Eventually she got up and went over to where he was standing. "Nuggets?"

"Sure," Duke agreed, wondering if he could get away with fried fish if he cut it up small enough. While he was preparing them dinner little Madison made her way over to him and tugged on the bottom of his shirt. "Yes?"

"I has to go."

Duke shook his head as he moved the fish around in the pan. "Sorry, pipsqueak, you're stuck with me until Nathan comes back."

"No," little Maddie groaned and jumped from foot to foot, her pigtails bouncing with each step. "I has to go!"

Duke stared at her a moment before his eyes bulged fully understanding what she was saying. "Oh! Umm…okay." He led her over to where the bathroom was and turned on the light. "You good?"

"Don't look," little Madison nearly growled at him and pulled the accordion door closed.

Duke went back to the kitchen to take the fish off the burner when he heard a crash from the bathroom. He ran in without thinking and when he pushed the door open the Madison he knew was laying on the floor. "Maddie?"

She groaned, pushing herself up from the floor. Duke couldn't help but stare. He hadn't realized how hard her eyes had gotten over the years until he spent the day looking into her purely innocent ones.

Madison stood with Duke's help and cracked her back. "The hell happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Duke questioned but Haven or not this was going to be a hard one to explain.

Madison thought back, "I put a movie on at home." She was confused to how she ended up not only on the Cape Rouge but on the floor of the bathroom. "Someone slip something into my drink?"

"You sure you're okay?" Duke couldn't help it as his eyes trailed over inch of her body to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Madison shrugged still feeling very out of it. "I think so. I mean I definitely could go for some food."

"Nuggets?"

She chuckled as she playfully shoved him, "What am I? Five?"

X-X-X

"I was three," Madison concluded after they had filled her in on the trouble.

Nathan, Duke, and Audrey sat with her at a table at the Grey Gull after closing time so it was just the four of them. Audrey nodded with a smile, "you were kind of cute."

"I'm sure I was adorable," Madison stated, taking a long pull from the beer in front of her. Duke rolled his eyes and Madison saw it. "What?"

"I have a whole new appreciation for Nathan," he commented and ducked when Madison went to hit him.

Nathan took a sip of his bourbon, "You really don't remember anything?"

Madison tried to think back but nothing was coming. "I remember popping a movie in and curling up on the couch and the next thing I know I'm on the floor of the bathroom on the Cape Rouge. Let me tell you this though; if this is how drunks feel after blacking out I do not see the appeal. Losing a chunk of time like that is a little unsettling." She grabbed Duke's glass needing a sip of something stronger than her beer before handing it back. "Do we know who did this or why we were turned into kids?"

"Alex Hatfield," Audrey replied, pausing to see if the name meant anything to Madison but she shrugged. "He lost his wife recently to cancer and it triggered his trouble. In his mind she was too young to have passed away from a cancer diagnosis and it caused people in your graduating class to become children."

After hearing it was her graduating class, Madison sat up straight almost knocking over the drinks on the table. "Oh my God, Leah. Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Nathan assured. "She was also affected by the trouble which was the last thing we needed to confirm that it was indeed your graduating class. If it weren't for Dylan's call who knows how far you could have gotten or how long it would have taken us to find you."

"This is still all so weird," Madison got up from her chair and leaned against one of the beams.

They were silent for a bit all thinking about the events that had happened during the day when Duke spoke up, "Hey, how did I not know you had a cat?"

Madison scrunched her face at the random question. "That's because I didn't. Are you kidding me? Mom hated pets."

Duke shared a look with Nathan. Her mom had gotten rid of the cat just like she said she would and Madison was too young to even remember that she had ever even owned one.

"Madison, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Audrey asked and she could tell Madison was about to question her so she tried to get her point across. "In private."

"Okay," Madison drew the word out wondering if maybe something happened when she was little that couldn't be said in front of the guys. Audrey and Madison went out on the patio and the latter closed the door behind them. "Listen, if I like bit you or something when I was three please don't hold that against me. I didn't and don't really like most people."

Audrey leaned against the railing look out across the water. "I'm bite free, thankfully. But I did get to see firsthand how much you care about Nathan."

"He's my brother," Madison answered, unsure of where this was going.

"He is but it was more than that. You were scared and you were looking for him when you couldn't find your mom or dad."

Madison still had no idea what was going on, "Okay, again, he's my big brother." She looked through the glass door to see Nathan and Duke in light conversation. "I don't see how that's so hard to believe that I would ask for him."

"He worries about you and the fact that you're not being honest with him isn't helping anything. It's only making him worry more. He got used to you coming to him with your problems and I think he feels a little helpless. He doesn't know how to help if you don't tell him what is going on."

Madison looked back to Nathan again. "One thing that Nate never is is helpless. I get what you are saying and I appreciate the thought but if he gets hurt or killed because I'm looking into who caused the accident…that's not something I could live with."

"Just don't end up pushing him away while you're trying to protect him."

Madison walked back inside and Audrey followed. Nathan could tell instantly that whatever the conversation was about that it hadn't gone over well. "Think maybe we will head upstairs and let you two close up. It's been a long night."

She said goodnight to her brother and grabbed the empty glasses from the table, bringing them behind the bar. Duke sat there and finished her drink as he watched her clean up as though she had been working there for years.

"You heading home tonight?" Duke questioned, hoping she would say no and come back to the Cape Rouge with him but ultimately wanting the decision to be hers; especially after the day that they had.

Madison turned the water off and placed the clean glasses on the rack before searching for a rag to dry them remembering how Duke hated spots. "I probably should."

Duke hid his disappointment the best he could as he got up from his seat and took the towel out of her hand. "Then get on going. I'll finish."

Madison rose up on her tip toes to kiss Duke's cheek but he moved away at the last second. She lowered herself back down with confusion, "What's wrong?"

His face flushed and he cleared his throat. "You were a little kid just a few hours ago…"

Madison sighed, "This is going to take some time isn't it?"

"And a lot of liquor," Duke agreed.